The Korea Times

'Maximum pressure had worked': Pence's memoir reveals how Trump dealt with North Korea

Kim Yo-jong, top right, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, sits behind U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, bottom left, as they watch the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, in this Feb. 9, 2018, file photo. YonhapEx-US VP and son of Korean War veteran believes 'fire and fury' forced Kim to ask for talksBy Jung Min-hoNorth Korea had long been the master of its own game: The regime knew exactly how to get what it wanted through war threats while suggesting it would give up its nuclear weapons while seeming to have no intention of actually doing so.However, when the Trump administration reacted differently to Pyongyang's renewed bombast and threats with far more serious and realistic consequences involving the world's most powerful military, the North was clearly “shaken” and started seeking negotiations, according to the memoir of former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence.“Applying maximum pressure had worked. President Trump's willingness to answer threats with counter-threats of 'fire and fury' had worked,” Pence, 63, said in

Dec 14, 2022By Jung Min-ho

'Maximum pressure had worked': Pence's memoir reveals how Trump dealt with North Korea

Foreign Affairs

Seoul, Beijing agree to seek summit in South Korea

Foreign Minister Park Jin smiles during his virtual meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, at the government complex in Seoul, Monday. Courtesy of Ministry of Foreign AffairsForeign ministers vow to expand ties 'in new era of cooperation'By Jung Min-hoThe foreign ministers of South Korea and China agreed to strengthen bilateral diplomatic ties, Monday, as the two countries seek to hold high-level exchanges, including a summit in Seoul, “in the new era of cooperation.”According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Minister Park Jin and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi held a virtual meeting and agreed to “maintain exchange momentum” for President Yoon Suk-yeol and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping following their first summit in Bali, Indonesia, last month.The top diplomats said they will work together to honor what was agreed upon during the previous summit and to possibly hold a second one in South Korea, but did not elaborate.Park's visit to Beijing, Wang's trip to Seoul and vice minister-level talks are among the other projects they agreed to pursue i

Dec 12, 2022By Jung Min-ho

Seoul, Beijing agree to seek summit in South Korea

Korean, Chinese businesses urge governments to boost exchanges

Politics

Motion calling for sacking interior minister approved

National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo bangs the gavel after the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea unilaterally passed a motion calling for firing Interior Minister Lee Sang-min at the Assembly chamber in Seoul, Sunday. YonhapYoon expected to exercise veto rightBy Jung Min-hoThe opposition-controlled National Assembly passed a motion, Sunday, calling for removing Interior Minister Lee Sang-min from the Cabinet post over his “failure” in handling the Itaewon crowd disaster, which killed at least 158 people on Oct. 29.After lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) left the chamber in protest of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea's (DPK) unilateral push for the vote, the motion was approved with backing from 182 lawmakers in the 299-member Assembly.It was the second such attempt to remove a Cabinet minister of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, following the eventually vetoed one aimed at Foreign Minister Park Jin over the president's mistake-plagued overseas trips in September. Interior Minister Lee Sang-min / NewsisRep. Lee Jae-myung, the DPK leade

Dec 11, 2022By Jung Min-ho

Motion calling for sacking interior minister approved

North Korea

Gov't seeks to revise deportation law to protect North Korean escapees

A North Korean fisherman is handed over to North Korean officials at the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom, in this Nov. 7, 2019, file photo. Courtesy of Ministry of UnificationBy Jung Min-hoThe government is pressing ahead with amending the law to protect North Korean escapees from repatriation against their will amid an investigation into the controversial 2019 decision to send back two North Korean fishermen despite their obvious resistance.The Ministry of Unification announced the plan to propose a revision of the law, Wednesday, to require its minister to confirm directly whether a North Korean in question wants to stay in South Korea before making a final decision.The revised law would also prohibit the government from deporting North Koreans against their will for any reason, even if they are accused of a felony. Instead, they would be given the right to a fair trial here.The attempt to codify the specific rules comes following the revelation of the photos of two North Korean fishermen, visibly gripped by fear, handed over by South Korean authorities to North Korean offi

Dec 8, 2022By Jung Min-ho

North Korea

British peacemaker presents idea to break stalemate in Korea

Michael Schluter, president and CEO of Relational Peacebuilding Initiatives (RPI), speaks during a meeting on a peacebuilding project for Korea at its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, May 17. Courtesy of RPI'Denuclearization is unfeasible ― for now ― but peace can still be achieved'By Jung Min-hoAfter two Pyongyang-Washington summits that ended without an agreement, North Korea has refused to talk over the last three years, while intensifying its efforts to develop nuclear weapons. This situation paints a bleak future for the Korean Peninsula and the world. The chances of a conflict escalating into a nuclear catastrophe in the region are greater than ever before and seem to be only increasing as North Korea appears to have lost interest in developing any other types of weapons. By 2030, the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, a Seoul-based think tank, warns North Korea could develop as many as 300 nuclear warheads and more advanced delivery means.Shifting the ruinous course is still possible, but only through a deal that would be acceptable to the North. Michael Schluter, the U

Dec 8, 2022By Jung Min-ho

British peacemaker presents idea to break stalemate in Korea

North Korea

North Korea's strong interest in climate change offers opportunity for cooperation

Yeo Min-ju, a professor of atmospheric science at Yonsei University, speaks during a forum hosted by the Ministry of Unification on "green detente" at the Royal Hotel in central Seoul, Wednesday. Korea Times photo by Jung Min-hoBy Jung Min-hoUnder the national principle of Juche, or self-reliance, North Korea shows almost no interest in working with other countries for a common cause. Yet North Korea sent a representative to last month's 27th U.N. climate change conference, known as COP27, in Egypt. The North also sent a representative to COP26 in Scotland a year ago.Moreover, North Korea reported its first Voluntary National Review to the U.N. agency in 2021 for the 2030 sustainable growth agenda, acknowledging “climate-related” natural disasters and vowing to step up efforts to reduce greenhouse gases.All this suggests Pyongyang's strong interest in climate change and presents an opportunity for inter-Korean cooperation in the area, according to experts Wednesday.“The Soviet Union's first gas pipeline in Western Europe, which has become an issue recently, was cons

Dec 7, 2022By Jung Min-ho

North Korea's strong interest in climate change offers opportunity for cooperation

Politics

INTERVIEW Author of 'Silent Invasion' warns against non-citizens' right to vote

gettyimagesbank'Beijing will certainly exploit it to influence elections,' Australian academic saysBy Jung Min-hoClive Hamilton, a professor of public ethics at Charles Sturt University in Canberra, Australia, and the author of “Silent Invasion: China's Influence in Australia"The Chinese government has been accused frequently in recent years of trying to influence politics in other countries, including through direct interference in elections. Only several weeks ago, a Chinese woman living in Delhi under a false identity was arrested on suspicion of spying on senior officials of the Indian government. In January, a British lawyer of Chinese heritage was named by the U.K.'s spy agency as an “agent” of Beijing, seeking to influence its parliamentarians. Given the many reports of such episodes, an Australian scholar claims it is naive to assume that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will not exploit the voting rights of non-citizens in Korea ― because it will.“The Chinese government will certainly exploit the non-citizen right to vote in an attempt to influence t

Dec 5, 2022By Jung Min-ho

[INTERVIEW] Author of 'Silent Invasion' warns against non-citizens' right to vote

Global Community

Korean gov't hints at depriving non-citizens of right to vote

gettyimagesbankJustice minister vows to reform system based on principle of reciprocityBy Jung Min-hoThe Ministry of Justice is mulling over revising Korea's voting system, possibly taking away the voting rights of non-citizens in local elections, according to Minister Han Dong-hoon. Only two weeks prior to the June 1 local elections, Kim Eun-hye, then the Gyeonggi gubernatorial candidate of the ruling People Power Party, said giving non-citizens the right to vote is unfair as most Koreans living overseas do not enjoy the same right. Her message was aimed at then rival candidate Kim Dong-yeon, who was campaigning at an event to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Korea-China diplomatic relations in front of many Chinese F-5 visa (permanent residency) holders in Suwon. She lost by just 8,900 votes in the election for the post that governs more than 13.5 million residents. That was far fewer than the 50,000 votes of permanent residents of foreign nationality, mostly Chinese, in the province.The result can be seen as an example of F-5 permanent resident visa holders possibly swinging the

Dec 2, 2022By Jung Min-ho

Korean gov't hints at depriving non-citizens of right to vote

Society

Chinese residents in Seoul join 'white paper' protests against Beijing's COVID policy

A protester holds a sign that reads, "Free China #No Xi Jinping !! CCP," at a rally in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap'Protest may subside but frustrations won't. It could happen again,' scholar saysBy Jung Min-hoChinese residents held a rally in Seoul Wednesday night in a rare ― if not unprecedented ― gathering here against the stringent COVID-19 measures in their home country, demanding freedom and human rights while covering their faces due to the fear of being persecuted.Around 100 protesters gathered in a street near Hongik University, a popular area for young people, to pay their respects to the victims of a blaze last week in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang Province in Western China, and express their fury over the lockdown measures, which were blamed for delaying firefighters from saving them.Some held up signs reading “Free China” and “Dictator Out” as well as blank white pieces of paper ― a symbol of defiance against Beijing's censorship ― as similar protests across China and beyond took place, in the boldest display of dissent against the Chinese authoriti

Dec 1, 2022By Jung Min-ho

Chinese residents in Seoul join 'white paper' protests against Beijing's COVID policy

Foreign Affairs

Prime minister focuses on climate change in promoting Busan's Expo bid

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo holds the "Squid Game invitation card" during his presentation on Busan's bid to host 2030 World Expo at the BIE General Assembly in Paris, Tuesday (local time). Courtesy of Courtesy of Office for Government Policy CoordinationHan ― with BTS ― makes case against rival city Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's capitalBy Jung Min-hoIn a video played to promote Busan's bid to host the World Expo 2030 at Tuesday's General Assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), the international body that supervises the exhibitions, RM, the leader of K-pop boy band BTS, put forward climate change as one of the pressing issues for humanity. Comparing the current situation with the one described in “Squid Game,” the hit Korean series in which only one participant survives, BTS members made the case that the 2030 festival should be a platform for all participants to share ideas to find solutions for many challenges, so that “everyone can survive on this beautiful planet.”This video was part of the presentation delivered in Paris by Prime Minister Han

Nov 30, 2022By Jung Min-ho

Jung Min-ho

Read more

'Maximum pressure had worked': Pence's memoir reveals how Trump dealt with North Korea

Seoul, Beijing agree to seek summit in South Korea

Motion calling for sacking interior minister approved

Gov't seeks to revise deportation law to protect North Korean escapees

British peacemaker presents idea to break stalemate in Korea

North Korea's strong interest in climate change offers opportunity for cooperation

INTERVIEW Author of 'Silent Invasion' warns against non-citizens' right to vote

Korean gov't hints at depriving non-citizens of right to vote

Chinese residents in Seoul join 'white paper' protests against Beijing's COVID policy

Prime minister focuses on climate change in promoting Busan's Expo bid

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